Yu-Gi-Oh! Reforged, Episode 1
by leinad1382
Summary: The Pharaoh Atem has recovered his name, and his spirit has been freed. The Millenium Items are powerless now, buried beneath the earth. But if the ritual to create the Millenium Items can be done once, it can be done again. All that's needed is 99 human souls for the Millennium Items to be Reforged...


_Kul Elna was once a village of thieves & criminals, and was chosen by __Aknadin__ for that very reason. The requirements of the Dark Spell necessary to create the __Millennium Items__ included the sacrifice of 99 human souls, so Aknadin chose the darkest place in the Kingdom of Egypt in order to give power to the Items. In the process, all the village's inhabitants were sacrificed and the village destroyed._

Episode 1: Part 1

Return of the Shadow Games

The man let out a sigh, puzzling over the cards in front of him. He couldn't let his perfect winning streak be tarnished… His hand hovered over one, then the next, but none of the moves seemed like they'd do him any good. Could this be his first failed game?

"Excuse me, Reed? The students will be here soon," a woman in the next room said. He waved a hand at his secretary, knowing full well she couldn't see the action. Then he raised his eyebrows, as finally the pattern became known to him. He moved a stack across the field, put up a low numbered card to join the aces, and from there it was essentially an auto complete. This made his 9,844th game of free cell won. He was nearing the ten thousand mark every day, and a part of him just wanted to shirk his duties and keep chipping away at it.

"Sorry, Jen." He scooped up his worn-out deck of cards, returned them to their case, and stuck it in his pocket. "So when are they getting here?"

"Um… five minutes."

"What!?" Geez, when he got absorbed in a game of free cell, he really went out of it. Good thing he'd never stumbled upon that unwinnable game; he would spend a ridiculous amount of time working on it so as not to tarnish his winning streak. Shaking off the nightmarish thought of a card game that could not be won, the man hopped up from the chair, and threw open his top desk drawer. He gripped the handle of his briefcase, and yanked it out. Then he pulled the fedora off the hat rack and plopped it on his head.

His clothes hardly looked like they belonged to a teacher. At least, most of them. He donned a red button-up shirt and a thin black tie, but that was where the traditional semblance of a formal outfit ended. He wore black skinny jeans, and pointed leather shoes. To top the whole thing off, he wore a suit coat with a tail, like a fancy piano player. However, he had torn the sleeves away.

The fedora did little to tame his wild hair. A few spiky bangs stuck out in front, too stubborn to be held in a ponytail with the rest. He constantly brushed them behind his ears, but it was a lost cause. His hair did whatever it wanted, regardless of any effort he made.

"Can you make an announcement? That the headmaster will be a few minutes late?"

"A few minutes?" She repeated, giving him a sly grin.

"Yep. I intend to run across campus," He said with a wink.

The group was one of the most diverse to ever enter a duel academy. All ages stood awaiting their entrance exam, from those only about ten years old to a man that looked like the Zombie Master card. People from all over the world were here too, from Egypt to Japan to Africa, all races. Some of them looked nervous, others overly confident. And the hairstyles… they made the headmaster's seem tame. Gravity defying and abnormal colors, it seemed like those who chose to play duel monsters had some odd mutant gene. It made sense. Duel monsters was an odd game.

None of them seemed all that concerned that their leader was running late. But the entire room went silent when he strode in. His hand clenched a handful of fabric at his chest, not out of weariness but holding something in place. A necklace, concealed beneath his clothes. He released it, taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself after that sprint across campus.

With all eyes on him, he felt a little flustered. Still, the man strolled across the room to the podium, set his briefcase beside it, and tapped the mic (if only to get himself a few more seconds to catch his breath). Then, he closed his eyes, filled his lungs one final time, and began his first day as headmaster.

"Hello. I'm pleased to welcome you all to my duelist academy. My name is Professor Reed. Since you're all here, I assume you've passed the written portion of the entrance exam." He grinned, eyeing all of his new students. "While that is no small feat, I intend to be sure that at least a third of you are weeded out before the end of the exam." There were a chorus of whispers in the crowd. Reed raised an eyebrow, and they all ceased. He loved commanding so much respect.

"Once you pass your exams, you will be assigned to one of three dorms. The highest ranking dorm is called Raviel Blue, and very few of you will make the cut there. Not only will you need a near-perfect score on the written exam, but your entrance duel will have to be particularly fantastic. This house has the fanciest rooms, the most delicious cuisine, and the best dueling facilities.

"The middle-class dorm is called Hamon Yellow. Yes, I know what you're thinking. Isn't Hamon a type of meat eaten in Spain? The correct answer is yes, and this given that Hamon is a personal favorite of mine, it will be served in this dorrm's mess hall every dinner. The food is good, the lodging is good, and the duelists that get placed here will be good. Not great, mind you, but good.

"And then we come to the lowest, Uria Red. This is where I expect many of you will end up. It is for the mediocre, the ones I want to flunk and boot right on out of here until Jen, my secretary, guilts me into letting you stay. Expect to be sharing your room with several other students of your caliber, and while there will be plenty of food, it will not be quality. At least you won't have to worry about the freshman fifteen, like the Blues." He grinned.

"Excuse me, Reed?" One of the younger duelists in the front called out. He was one of the overconfident fellas, probably the best in his group of friends thinking he deserved the top spot at the academy. He had short blonde hair, spiked up in the front, and wore a tank-top and sports shorts.

"Professor Reed," he said.

"Yeah, whatever." The young duelist didn't bother to correct himself. "Isn't that dorm system just a rip-off of Seto Kaiba's duel academy?" Reed raised an eyebrow at the kid, all the while thinking 'future Uria'. It took considerable willpower not to call him that.

"No, it's quite different."

"How?"

"His academy uses Egyptian Gods. Mine uses Sacred Beasts. Any more questions?" The snotty kid didn't look satisfied with the answer, but he stayed quiet, just sitting there with that smug smile. "Anyway," He went on, trying not to let it get to him, "it is time for the second of your three tests. Everyone please hold up your decks."

The assembled group dug through their jackets and bags. One by one they produced their cards, contained by various methods. There were the professional deck boxes you could by in any convenience store, and their knock-offs. Someone pulled out a wooden box that looked like it had been used for decks of regular playing cards in its previous life, held shut by a hair binder. There were even a few custom pouches made of duct tape.

He cringed when he saw those held together by rubber bands, or worse yet, simply thrown in a pocket with nothing keeping them from spilling all over the place. It took those students a few moments to get all the cards facing the same way. He tried to keep his judgments to himself, although seeing such disrespect for their cards screamed Uria. His most important lesson was to be gentle with cards. Trading would be impossible if the cards had those fuzzy white edges from wear and tear or a bend in the corner. No one wanted a card like that.

"Even though you don't know it, you did this test before coming here. Now it's time to be graded. You will hand your deck over to me or one of my two fellow heads of houses, and we will judge your deck building skills."

Those simple words sent the crowd into a frenzy. Everyone started digging through their packs, switching out cards or simply scanning over their decks. Some students looked about to cry from the unexpected trial, but others like Mr. Smug up in front just stayed where they were. Professor Sylvan, head of the Hamon Yellow dorm, stepped up to Reed.

"Should we stop them from preparing, sir? Tell them the decks must be submitted as they are?"

"No, let them be. What's five minutes more of preparation?" He smirked, turning away from the podium. His coat tail flared dramatically behind him, adding to the students' suspense. It really made no difference if they had an hour or a year to prepare. They'd still be graded just the same.

The students trickled into the lecture hall a few minutes later, where the three house heads each sat in a desk. At first most of the students avoided Professor Reed, afraid to have the frightening headmaster scan over their card choices with a critical eye. But when the lines got too long for the others, a few sucked it up and walked his way.

The first person to take a seat across from Reed was, of course, Mr. Snotty. He plunked down, and tossed his deck to the Professor. His card case was one of the duct tape pouches, a camo design.

"Name?" Reed asked, pulling over his clipboard.

"Ben." After scribbling that down, he opened the case and pulled out the cards. Right on top was 'Caius the Shadow Monarch'. After thumbing through the first few, he had a good idea of this deck's theme.

"Different Dimension deck?" He said, mostly to himself, and wrote it down without confirmation. The D. D. decks had always seemed a bit odd to him. They focused on removing cards from play, rather than sending them to the graveyard. Back in the day, removing cards from play meant taking them out of the duel, completely inaccessible for the player. But recently, Industrial Illusions had turned this game play mechanic into a new theme, a different dimension.

"Favorite card?" Reed asked. He assumed it was the trump card of the deck, Cauis. With a powerful attack strength and a great effect, it seemed like the logical choice.

"D. D. Survivor."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Well, when he's removed from play, you can bring him back at the End Phase. And my strategy uses continuous spells that remove _all_ cards from play instead of sending them to the graveyard. That means he keeps coming back no matter what. Kinda like the Vampire Lord card," Ben said. Reed raised an eyebrow at hearing the name of one of his favorite monsters.

"Yes, it is a lot like Vampire Lord." Maybe this kid wasn't so bad. He had a decent deck, too. "Well, you're in. You are free to take the entrance duel." The Professor recorded his decision on the sheet. Then he looked up at that annoying grin. "Well? Go. I've got lots of potentials to fail here."

"You won't regret this, sir!" He collected his deck and stood up. Reed rolled his eyes, and looked back to the clipboard.

"Next!"

He was right with his prediction. Nearly a third of these kids were headed for the door. How in God's name they'd passed the entrance exam was beyond him. There were decks consisting of 90% monsters, with only a scant few magic or trap cards. Without balance in that respect, allowing them to take the entrance duel would be an embarrassment. He was doing them a favor by tossing them out.

A few showed promise. They weren't the best built decks, but they had one of the things he respected most in a duelist. Personality.

"A harpie deck, huh?" He said, paging through the collection. "You don't see too many of those nowadays." The girl, Mckenzie, blushed a little, unsure whether she should take that as a compliment or a put-down.

"Yeah. I know they're not the strongest monsters, which is why it's not totally harpie oriented. But they're some of my dearest cards, so I put them in there. Harpie Queen is my favorite. It was given to me by someone very special," Mckenzie said. Reed smiled as he finished looking through the deck. Even if that particular build wasn't very popular in tournaments nowadays, the Harpies Feather Duster was certainly a redeeming card in such a set.

"You're in," He said. "Your deck has heart, and that isn't all that common these days. Get ready for the final exam." She smiled, nodding in thanks, and left.

"Ugh," Reed mumbled as he looked over the first few cards of his next deck.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" He looked like he was about to pass out from the suspense of the test. Reed realized this, and immediately reassured him.

"No, don't worry. It's just that you have a lot of Synchro monsters in here."

"Th-that's what m-my deck is based on." Reed smirked as he finished looking through the cards.

"Personally, I hate Synchro monsters. They're overpowered, and a cheesy rip-off of fusion monsters." Reed returned the deck to the kid. "But that's not your fault, is it? Excellent deck. You're in."

He knew he'd find one of these eventually. Thanks to the research he'd done, Reed was prepared for this. He looked up at his latest examinee, Raymond Bellick.

"A gadget deck," he said. "A very good gadget deck."

"Thank you, sir." The guy looked about eighteen, and judging by his clothes, had quite a bit of money. That explained his cut and dry deck.

"This is, card for card, the exact build that won the latest regional tournament," Reed said, not bothering to withhold his venom. Raymond looked quite proud of that fact.

"Sure is. Took me quite a bit of scratch to collect it, but now I have a tournament winning deck at my disposal. You know, I wouldn't be upset if you just stuck me in Raviel Blue without the entrance duel. Don't want to embarrass your professors by crushing them." Snotty no longer held the top spot on his hate list.

"You're out," Reed said, crossing out his name on the clipboard.

"What?"

"You did not build this deck. Someone else did. You failed the assignment, and will not be admitted entry into the academy," Reed said. The kid stood from his chair, looking hurt and more than a little angry.

"I shouldn't be punished for acknowledging a good deck! Besides, it doesn't belong to him alone! I can use any cards I want."

"Yes, that is true. It is a good deck, and you would almost certainly pass the entrance duel with flying colors. But you do not have a single unique card here, not one smidgeon of your own personality. That is why you have failed." Raymond clenched his fists, and he obviously believed this couldn't be happening. By the look of it, he was used to getting what he wanted.

"Give me another chance!" He demanded, slamming his hands on the desk. Reed looked up at him, giving him the dead eye. Well, the least he could do was humor him. Jen was always telling him to be softer on these poor kids.

"Fine. What is a side deck?" Reed asked. Raymond looked like he'd just been punched in the gut. Apparently, he had barely passed the written portion. "Right, well, there's your second chance. Now get out." The kid stuck out an accusing finger at the Professor, his hand shaking a little. But when nothing intelligent came to mind, he followed his pattern of taking something from someone else.

"You'll regret this," he said, repeating the cliché line from every movie made in the past ten years. Then he snatched up the deck and stormed out. Reed barely seemed phased by it.

"Next!"

After a long, incredibly annoying day of examining mediocre decks, the second test finally came to a close. As he guessed, about two-hundred of the six-hundred students had been eliminated. Tomorrow would probably take another chunk of those away. The survivors stood in the entrance hall once more, looking considerably worse for wear. The stress of getting into a prestigious academy could really take its toll.

"Congratulations. You've all succeeded in passing the test. Your final exams will take place tomorrow. For tonight, you'll all sleep in the Raviel Blue dorm. That way you'll get a taste of the good life before having it stripped away from you." Reed grinned and winked at the crowd. "If you have any last minute alterations to make to your decks, you should do it tonight. Because in the morning, you'll be facing my professors. And some practice duels amongst yourselves wouldn't hurt, either." Those words alone would probably deprive quite a few students of sleep. But most would do just fine. The exam decks weren't all that tough to beat.

Reed stepped down from the podium, and headed for the door. The other professors would direct the herd to its pen. He could head back to his place, and get some well-deserved sleep, maybe after a few games of free cell.

"Excuse me, Professor Reed?" Someone said. He turned to the speaker, another young duelist. How many of these kids should have been in elementary school right now? He had blonde hair and glasses. There was another one about his age tagging along.

"Yes?"

"We just wanted to know if you had any tips for the duel tomorrow. So we could prepare."

Reed smiled. It was a nice change of pace to have some of these kids to be humble enough to ask for his advice. Most assumed they were the best thing to happen to dueling since Yugi Moto.

"Well, the instructors choose from one of six random decks. But honestly, none of them are all that challenging if you can play your cards right."

"Are you sure? I don't have any of the best cards in the game, like Mirror Force or Rageki."

"Yeah? Well, I'll let you in on a little secret. Having the best cards isn't all that important. Sometimes a deck is at its strongest when all the cards work together like a well-oiled machine. If you know how to use them right, a deck like that can crush one you'd have to spend thousands of dollars assembling." He grinned, and clapped each on the shoulder. "So what are your names?"

"I'm Connor," he said. "And this is my friend Owen."

"You probably know my brother. His name is Ben," Owen said.

"Ah, so you're related to the snot," Reed said. Having his brother called that seemed to give Own endless entertainment. "Well, I'll give you my best advice. Get a good night's sleep. You won't do yourself any favors in tomorrow's duel if you're only half awake."

Connor nodded. "Thanks, Professor Reed." Then the pair left. Hopefully they actually got some shut-eye; they seemed like good kids.

Once he got back to his office/home (he'd decided to live on campus since he couldn't really afford his own place on his current salary), he plunked down on his couch. Just as he finally got relaxed after the long day, his feline friend decided to ruin it for him. The cat leapt up onto the arm of his chair, staring at him with those big blue eyes.

"Mouschi…" He sighed. She continued to stare at him until he scratched the fur beneath her chin, alternating stripes of dark and light grey. "Can't you feed yourself by now?" She meowed in response, sounding impatient. "Fine." Reed stood up from his perfectly comfortable chair, and strolled into his microscopic kitchen. He opened the fridge, rummaging past a few bottles of hot sauce until he found the milk. Then he uncapped it, and gave it a sniff to see if it was still good. Acceptable. That would have to do.

His phone rang. Grunting, the Professor dug it out of his pocket and flicked it open.

"This had better be good. My cat is hungry," he scowled.

"Sir… it's happening."

"What?"

"Turn on your news. Any station." He dropped the open carton of milk, not caring at the slightest that it was slowly emptying onto his floor. Mouschi went to work cleaning it up for him.

Reed turned on the television and crouched in front of it, phone wedged between his ear and shoulder. The spilled milk quickly became the last thing on his mind. The words scrolling across the bottom of the screen and the voice of the female reporter filled his brain with much more important things.

"The death toll was confirmed to be approximately ninety-nine. There are no signs of struggle, no external injuries, and the coroners are still stumped as to the cause of death. This occurred in one of the hottest gang-activity zones in Cairo, and some locals call this a blessing in disguise, even some sort of divine punishment. Religious leaders in Egypt have come out saying that these deaths were ritualistic in nature, and that it heralds the coming apocalypse. Our reporters are searching for any more information on the deaths, but for the time being, there doesn't seem to be any explanation. Back to you, Donny."

He watched a few seconds longer, so see if he'd missed anything, but the news quickly turned to other matters. This revelation shook him to the core, but not for reasons known to the public. After a long while spent absorbing the news, he realized that his caller was still on the line. Someone to confirm his fears with.

"They're making them again. The Items." He traced the outline of his necklace, a massive golden key in the shape of an Ankh.

"It seems so."

"I want you to get me one."

Episode 1: Part 2

Pass or Fail

After a night spent in the lavish Raviel Blue dorms, and totally unable to enjoy them out of anxiety, the examinees met back in the entrance hall. By now they'd formed into groups, making loose bonds with those around them. No one wanted to get too close, though. Not when they might flunk out after the day's duels.

"Are you guys nervous?" Owen asked his companions. His thick brown hair looked disheveled from a night of tossing and turning.

"A little," Connor said, adjusting his glasses for the thousandth time.

"I'm not," Ben boasted, folding his arms behind his head and kicking out his feet. It looked like he'd gotten plenty of sleep last night.

"Of course you aren't, Ben," Owen said. "You always win."

"True dat!" He patted the duct tape pouch attached to his belt. Unlike the two companions, he wasn't preparing. Connor had his cards in stacks, sorted by monster, trap, and magic cards. Owen was perusing his collection to see if there were any powerful cards he'd missed that went with his deck theme.

"It doesn't help that I'm first up to duel!" Owen stuck his head in his hands, dropping a few traps in the process. "If I had an Archfiend Soldier, my deck would be perfect!"

"C'mon, you'll do just fine," Connor said.

The massive doors to the entrance hall burst open, and the headmaster himself strolled in. He looked even more sleep deprived than the would-be students, but he still smiled and took the podium.

"Good morning everyone! I hope you're sufficiently prepared for today's test! If you pass, you'll be allowed the wonderful privilege of having your parents pay a large sum of money so you can learn how to duel." Some scattered laughter. Probably would have been more if he'd saved the joke for after the exam. "Alright, we have twenty-five teachers and about four hundred of you, so let's get this show on the road!"

Professor Reed stepped out into the Raviel dueling stadium, marveling at just how large it was. Not quite as big as Seto Kaiba's, but still impressive on its own. Presently, it was divided up into sixteen smaller dueling areas, while the other nine instructors would be accommodated in the Hamon Yellow stadium. His first duel was with Owen, one of the kids he'd talked to yesterday.

"Professor!" He heard the voice of his secretary.

"Uh-oh," Reed said, turning to her. "You only call me that when you're about to give me bad news. What is it, Jen?" She looked very presentable today, with her mess of curly hair tamed to a ponytail, and dressed in a blue blouse and flowy skirt. Her face was screwed up in anxiety. How bad could this news be?

"Well… there's another instructor who's offered to conduct some of the exam duels. So we'll need somewhere to set him up, and give him some examinees." Reed frowned at her, and raised an eyebrow. Jen was a great secretary, and always took little problems like this on herself without bothering him.

"Who is it?" By the look on her face, that was the kicker.

"It's, um, Darby." Reed's frown grew even more sour.

"Funny. I don't remember hiring him."

"The board has the final say on all hiring and firing. And they want him," she told him. He said nothing, leaving the poor messenger squirming in misplaced guilt. Eventually, she spoke again. "You know he's an amazing duelist, and the academy could really benefit from him being here." Had anyone else said that, they would have been very swiftly let go. He sighed.

"Set him up in the Red Stadium." It gave him marginal satisfaction to put him in the worst arena, little more than glorified bleachers. "We'll get this whole thing sorted out after the exams." Jen nodded, even though she knew this wouldn't end the way he wanted. If as prestigious a duelist as Darby wanted a position teaching here, he'd have it. "Briefcase?"

"What do you say?" She prodded him. The tension faded a bit, and the attitude became somewhat playful.

"Please," he said. Jen grinned, and handed him his case. He returned the smile, and headed to his section of the Blue Stadium. He set the briefcase down on the ground, and cracked it open.

Reed wasn't a big fan of the new duel-disc systems—he preferred using the battle-city era model—but since the company donated this stadium and sold the school a bulk of them at a discount, he had to use the new one. It featured a portion on each arm, one containing the slots for spell and traps cards and the deck, the other with the slots for monsters as well as the graveyard. They'd finally perfected the technology that kept the cards in place on the duel disc when you played them, so pesky winds and gravity couldn't interrupt your game.

He slipped his hands into each half of the duel-disc, feeling the arm brace gently clench down to hold it in place. Then he moved to the bottom half of the briefcase, running his finger along the stacks of cards there. All in all, he had ten highly personalized decks, the most powerful of which was Zombie themed. Others employed strategies he built, and one of them he affectionately called his 'favorite cards deck'. He'd filled it with cards he liked, but that weren't powerful enough for his main decks, such as Celtic Guardian.

He moved to the bottom row, where he kept the six exam decks. These were quite simple, employing some of the most common card types such as dragon and spellcaster. The one he happened to pick out was the water deck.

His opponent showed up across from him, the kid named Owen. He already had his new duel disc on, and held his hands out like he was getting ready to start boxing. The Professor grinned, and slipped his cards into the deck zone above his left wrist.

"Ready to duel?"

"You betcha!" He called out, placing his deck as well. Each duelist stuck out his right arm, and a pair of triangular devices shot out of them. They landed at the four edges of the arena, and began whirring. A little metal foot pushed each triangle up so it was facing the center of the area, and the surface began glowing with a myriad of colors. A dark blue rectangle appeared next to each participant, displaying 2000: the number of life points they started out with for the entrance exam.

"Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll let you take the first turn," Reed said. "By the way, what kinda deck do you have?"

"Fiendish Fairies," Owen replied. Odd choice. Did he mean that he had combined cards with the fiend type and the fairy type into a single deck? Or had he found fairy cards that looked particularly fiendish? Either way, he got points for using something the Professor had never heard of before.

"Very well. Let's duel!" They both drew five cards to start, and Owen drew a sixth since it was his turn. His eyes scanned his options over, before he selected one and played it in one of the monster card zones on his right hand.

"I'll start by summoning La Jinn, the Mystical Genie of the Lamp in attack mode!" As soon as he played the card, the triangles started humming. Then, the air shimmered, as his monster came into existence. The holograms produced an amazingly realistic creature. First, a tiny brown lamp appeared, looking like something you'd pick up at the Goodwill. Then, a thick green smoke began to billow out from it, slowly forming a humanoid shape. Once he had appeared, the genie crossed his arms and gave a very smug grin. Two new rectangles materialized beside him, showing his attack and defense strength. 1800 ATK/1000 DEF.

"A four star monster with 1800 ATK? Very good," Reed said. "You won't find much better attack on a four star."

"Yeah, and he can crush just about any other four star or lower monster! I end my turn."

Reed drew a card, and briefly glanced over his hand, before playing a monster card.

"I summon the High Tide Gyojin, in attack mode." The triangles hummed again, creating the holographic projection. Following the theme of a water deck, this monster looked like some sort of amphibious frog-man, complete with gills, fins, and green skin. The holograms also showed his attack and defense: 1650/1600.

"That's the best you can do?" Owen chuckled. "He doesn't have nearly enough attack strength to beat my Genie."

"Oh, but he will," Reed said, taking another card from his hand. He pressed a button on the spell and trap side of his duel disc, and a compartment opened up. Then he slipped his card in, and pressed if closed. "I play the field spell card, Umi!" The holographic system went into overdrive now. From the edges of the duel arena, a torrent of virtual ocean water flooded the floor. A little shocked at the sudden change in battle conditions, Owen stumbled back a bit as the tide swallowed up his feet. Of course, it wasn't real, but with such advanced technology, it certainly felt that way. Where the duelists stood, the computers generated fake ripples, as if they were actually standing in a pool.

"This card increases the attack and defense of all Fish, Sea Serpent, and Aqua type monsters by two hundred points!" As if taking cue from his words, Reed's monster suddenly bulked up, looking bigger and more fearsome. The rectangles changed to read 1850/1800. "Now, High Tide Gyojin, attack!" The giant fish held up his weapon, a golden trident, and spun it around above his head. The water at his feet followed the weapon, spiraling through the air. Then it thrust the weapon at Owen's genie, and the water flew toward it.

La Jinn didn't stand idly, however. He unfolded his arms, and rushed up to meet the attack. A massive green fist flew to meet the raging stream, and the two attacks collided. However, the genie wasn't strong enough to withstand the force. He faltered, and the attack overwhelmed him, shattering the hologram into a million pieces. But it didn't stop there. The water pushed on, until it struck Owen.

Once again, he reacted to the incredibly vivid holograms but taking a step back. The water splashed off of him, and rejoined the pools at their feet.

"As I'm sure you know, when two monsters in attack position fight, the one with the highest attack wins. And then, the difference in battle damage is subtracted from your life points!" Owen's score dropped from 2000 to 1950 as he said this. Not a huge blow, but he still lost his monster.

"Of course I know that," Owen said. "If I only had the Archfiend Soldier in my deck, your monster would be fish sticks by now. He has 1900 ATK!" Owen frowned. "Are you finished?"

"Not quite. I'll place one card face down." Reed took another card, and placed it on one of the spell and trap zones. The mysterious card appeared on the field near the Professor's feet, a rectangle that looked like the back of a duel monsters card. His opponent could then see how many spell or traps he had, but the identity remained a mystery to him. "Then I end my turn."

"Good, because I'm just getting started." He drew the top card of his deck. Then he pulled one of his cards out. "I'll play one card in face down defense position." Instead of putting the card straight up and down, he put it sideways on the monster card zone, symbolizing defense position. That way, if it was attacked, the defense points would calculate who won the battle. And if the attacking monster destroyed it, his life points would be spared; when a monster was in defense position, the difference didn't come out of the life points.

The hologram displayed the sideways card on the field, much like Reed's. He could attack it, but for all he knew, it could be a monster with a dangerous effect. Now Owen had the element of surprise.

"And then I'll end my turn. You're up," Owen said. Reed drew his card.

"Alright, Owen, prepare yourself. High Tide Gyojin, attack his face down monster!" The fish warrior obeyed, twirling his trident for another assault. As the waters collided with the card, Owen's monster revealed itself. At first it seemed like some sort of wall, weaving together from holographic wood and string that was a sickly red color. Then Reed realized that it wasn't string, but hair. For right in the center of the wall was a face. The system displayed its points: 1000/1850.

"Ha! My Wall of Illusion has defense points equal to your monster's attack! Which means it isn't destroyed." The waters of the attack dripped harmlessly off the living wall. "_And_ you triggered its special effect! When an opponent's monster battles Wall of Illusion, that monster is returned to the owner's hand!"

The pale, purplish-pink face shifted a bit. Then, like some possessed doll from a horror movie, the eyes snapped open. The monster locked her gaze on the fish man, who then slumped over as though hypnotized. His trident fell from his hand, and then the beast collapsed into the water. Reed reclaimed his card from the duel disc, and High Tide Gyojin disappeared from the field.

"Very good. You've managed to create some field advantage with your monster's effect. However, a good duelist always has a backup plan. Each player is allowed one summon per turn. I haven't done that yet, so I'll take that opportunity to defend my life points. Come forth, Jellyfish!" Reed placed his newest monster onto the field. Just as the name implied, a giant, squishy white creature came into existence. It had 1500 attack points, before Umi pumped it up to 1700. "Then I'll end my turn."

Owen drew a card, and his eyes went wide as soon as he saw it. Smiling, he held it up in the air.

"I'll activate the spell card Monster Reborn!" He called out, placing it on a slot in his duel disk. "It allows me to take one monster from my graveyard and bring it back out on the field. Since there's only one, I'll revive my La Jinn!" The Genie reemerged on the field, looking quite pleased to be back. "Luckily, he has just enough attack to crush your jellyfish. La Jinn, destroy him!" Owen's monster complied, gliding across the field. The Jellyfish readied its stingers, strands of electricity crawling all over them, but it was futile. La Jinn punched the cushiony mass, and it exploded. The attack continued, striking Reed, and his life points dropped to 1900.

"But I'm not done yet!" He said, turning his other monster card into attack mode. "Since you have no monsters on the field, I can attack your life points directly. Wall of Illusion, hit him with a shadow strike!" The wall's eyes lit up again. This time they produced a black ball of swirling energy that catapulted itself at the Professor. He nonchalantly moved his hand to the right dueling glove, and pushed a button.

"Activate trap card: Tornado Wall." The card image at his feet rose up so Owen could see. Then, a swirling violet twister snaked out of the card, catching the attack before it could strike Reed. "When Umi is on the field, this card reduces any battle damage I receive to zero. So even though I have no monsters, my life points are safe."

"Darn it!" Owen cried. "Fine then, I end my turn." Reed nodded, and took another card from his deck.

"Alright. I summon my Warrior of Atlantis, in attack mode." The holograms produced another fish man, much like the first. However, he looked more human than High Tide Gyojin, and was blue instead of green. He also wielded a trident; apparently those weapons were highly fashionable among water creatures. "Like the Archfiend Soldier you want so badly, this four star monster has 1900 ATK. And with Umi beefing him up, that number rises to a whopping 2100. Now, say goodbye to La Jinn!" The Warrior of Atlantis rushed forward, gliding across the surface of the water. He hefted his trident, and plunged it into the Genie's chest before he knew what hit him. The excess 300 attack hit Owen, bringing his life points to 1650.

"Looks like you're in a tough spot. Unable to do any damage to me and no monsters that can defeat the Warrior of Atlantis. What'll you do now?"

"You'll see," Owen said, drawing another card. "Because I just drew a spell that will win me the duel. Mystical Space Typhoon!" He threw it down on the duel disc, and it materialized as a hologram. Now Owen had a tornado of his own. "It allows me destroy any spell or trap card on the field."

"An excellent card. More versatile than a De-Spell or a Remove Trap. It can do the job of both."

"Yeah! And I'm using it to take out your tornado wall." Their two cyclones collided in a fury of wind and water. When the miniature storm dissipated, his defensive barrier was gone. "Now I can do damage to your life points again!"

"Yes, but it means nothing if you can't take out my Warrior of Atlantis."

"I don't need to take it out. Now watch my ultimate move. I summon the Archfiend Soldier!" With a wide grin, he threw down the monster. It materialized, a terrifying fiendish warrior, ready for battle.

"I thought you said you didn't have one?" Reed said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I did. I was just trying to throw you off."

"Clever. But it doesn't change the fact that he doesn't stand a chance against my monster."

"Like I said, I don't need to take it out. Now, Wall of Illusion, attack his Warrior of Atlantis!" The Wall obeyed, generating another ball of dark energy.

"You might need to be held back a grade, kid," Reed chuckled. "Your monster only has 1000 ATK, and mine has 2100. It will be destroyed, and you'll take the difference as damage to your life points."

Just as he said, Owen's attack backfired. The Warrior of Atlantis charged, pointing his trident at the wall. It collided with the shadowy orb, breaking it apart, and struck the Wall's nightmarish face. The monster shattered, and Owen's life points dropped to 550.

However, Reed's monster then slumped downward, swaying back and forth. Moments later, it collapsed into the salty pool of Umi's water.

"You forgot about my monster's special effect. Whenever it battles an opponent's monster, that monster is returned to the hand. It makes no difference if it gets attacked, or it it's attacking." Owen said. Grinning, Reed reclaimed his warrior.

"I'm impressed."

"Well, you're about to be even more impressed. Archfiend Soldier, attack his life points directly!" The fiend obeyed, charging towards the Professor and brandishing a wicked blade. He slashed, holographic sword going right through Reed. The attack points were subtracted from Reed's life points, bringing them down to zero.

"Congratulations. You've passed the exam." He held out his wrist, and the triangular hologram projectors flew back to him. Owen did the same.

"Oh yeah! Passed with flying colors!"

"Well, not quite." Reed smirked, walking over to his new student. He picked up all of his cards, returning them back to the deck zone, except for one. Tornado Wall. "You destroyed my trap with your Mystical Space Typhoon. However, you could have done twice the damage."

"What? How?"

"This card can only be active when Umi is on the field. If you had gone straight for the field card, it would have destroyed the both of them. Not that it would have made a difference in this duel, but against a more serious opponent, it might have," Reed said. Owen frowned, collecting his cards. "But hey, don't sweat it. You dueled very well. I'll be looking forward to having you in my classes."

Reed had never wanted a game of free cell so much in his life. After fifteen entrance exam duels, most of which were much less interesting than his match against Owen, he just wanted to get out of there. Three of his examinees had failed to defeat his basic deck, and were eliminated from consideration in the school. Only one had no trouble at all, crushing his defenses and winning in just one turn.

"Welcome to the Duelists Academy, my new students," Reed called out. "I'm glad that most of you have proven yourselves worthy. As for the rest, be glad that we need the tuition to fund the school, or you might be out on your butts." This time, his joke went over well. The students, relieved and exhausted as he was, began to laugh. "I think I'll take this opportunity to fill you in on your first year. Classes will begin after the weekend. There will be one break for Halloween and one break for the Winter Holidays. Then in January, we will host a tournament to wrap up the semester. There, we will select six champions that will represent our school." The students looked awfully confused, and started whispering amongst themselves.

"Why six, you ask? Well, don't ask. It's none of your business." No one quite knew what to make of that, but the whispering ceased. "Now that you've given your dorm assignments, you may find your rooms and the head of your house will have a meal prepared for you. You're all dismissed."  
The crowd began to disperse, and the entrance hall immediately filled with noise. Out of about three hundred students that passed all three exams, fifty-three were in Raviel Blue, one hundred and sixty were Hamon Yellow, and the last ninety were Uria Red. The Professor noticed that the three students he'd spoken with, Owen, Ben, and Connor, had been placed in the Red Dorm.

"I didn't take you for Urias," Reed said, grinning. The three looked up at him, with a wide array of emotions. Ben still had his confident smirk, Connor looked a little embarrassed, and Owen sat somewhere in between. Clearly he thought he did a little better from his victory in the duel.

"I'm just sorry we won't get you have you as our head of house," Connor said. "I was hoping for that."

"Oh really? Why do you think you won't?"

"Aren't… aren't you the head of the Blue Dorm?" Connor asked. Reed laughed.

"Nope. Why do you think I wear red? I'm head of Uria."

"I don't understand. You seem like the best duelist here."

"Well, thank you for the compliment. But you know what they say about people like me. A good teacher is not one who has the most students, but the one who makes the most masters." He smiled at them. "With a little work, I could make you into masters too. You three have potential." They glanced back at each other, seeming pleased with his approval. He nodded to them, and returned to the podium. As they left the hall, chatting amongst themselves, he glanced back over his shoulder at them. They really did have potential. Hopefully those three, or even just one, could be among the six he was searching for.


End file.
